Analysis and Exploration of Parasitic Effects

Analysis and Exploration of Parasitic Effects
by Daniel Payne on 07-23-2025 at 10:00 am

parasitc elements min

With advanced semiconductor processes continuing to shrink, the number and complexity of parasitic elements in designs grows exponentially contributing to one of the most significant bottlenecks in the design flow. Undetected parasitic-induced issues can be extremely costly, often resulting in tape-out delays.

Silvaco… Read More


Agile Analog Update at #62DAC

Agile Analog Update at #62DAC
by Daniel Payne on 07-21-2025 at 10:00 am

agile analog min

On the last day of DAC 2025 I met with Chris Morrison, VP of Product Marketing at Agile Analog, to get an update. Their company provides Analog IP, the way you want it, and I knew that they had internal tools and a novel methodology to speed up the development process. This year they have started talking more about their internal IP automation… Read More


New Cooling Strategies for Future Computing

New Cooling Strategies for Future Computing
by Daniel Payne on 07-17-2025 at 10:00 am

thermal panel dac min

Power densities on chips increased from 50-100 W/cm2 in 2010 to 200 W/cm2 in 2020, creating a significant challenge in removing and spreading heat to ensure reliable chip operation. The DAC 2025 panel discussion on new cooling strategies for future computing featured experts from NVIDIA Research, Cadence, ESL/EPFL, the University… Read More


SoC Front-end Build and Assembly

SoC Front-end Build and Assembly
by Daniel Payne on 06-09-2025 at 10:00 am

SoC Compiler flow min

Modern SoCs can be complex with hundreds to thousands of IP blocks, so there’s an increasing need to have a front-end build and assembly methodology in place, eliminating manual steps and error-prone approaches. I’ve been writing about an EDA company that focuses on this area for design automation, Defacto Technologies, and … Read More


TCAD for 3D Silicon Simulation

TCAD for 3D Silicon Simulation
by Daniel Payne on 06-03-2025 at 10:00 am

Silvaco TCAD min

Semiconductor fabs aim to have high yields and provide processes that attract design firms and win new design starts, but how does a fab deliver their process nodes in a timely manner without having to run lots of expensive silicon through the line? This is where simulation and TCAD tools come into play, and to learn more about this… Read More


Automotive Functional Safety (FuSa) Challenges

Automotive Functional Safety (FuSa) Challenges
by Daniel Payne on 04-29-2025 at 10:00 am

silicon lifecycle management slm diagram min

Modern vehicles have become quite sophisticated, like a supercomputer on wheels. They integrate a vast number of electronic components, including thousands of chips, to deliver advanced functionalities ranging from infotainment to critical safety systems. This increasing complexity necessitates a robust approach to … Read More


High-speed PCB Design Flow

High-speed PCB Design Flow
by Daniel Payne on 04-24-2025 at 10:00 am

PCB design phases min

High-speed PCB designs are complex, often requiring a team with design engineers, PCB designers and SI/PI engineers working together to produce a reliable product, delivered on time and within budget. Cadence has been offering PCB tools for many years, and they recently wrote a 10-page white paper on this topic, so I’ll share … Read More


Verifying Leakage Across Power Domains

Verifying Leakage Across Power Domains
by Daniel Payne on 04-21-2025 at 10:00 am

leakage contention

IC designs need to operate reliably under varying conditions and avoid inefficiencies like leakage across power domains. But how do you verify that connections between IP blocks has been done properly? This is where reliability verification, Electrical Rule Checking (ERC) tools and dynamic simulations all come into play particularly… Read More


Generative AI Comes to High-Level Design

Generative AI Comes to High-Level Design
by Daniel Payne on 04-10-2025 at 10:00 am

high level agents min

I’ve watched the EDA industry change the level of design abstraction starting from transistor-level to gate-level, then RTL, and finally using High Level Synthesis (HLS). Another emerging software trend is the use of generative AI to make coding RTL more automated. There’s a new EDA company called Rise Design Automation that… Read More